Weak brakes

[Beavertwp]

Have a new to me 2013 Sundance 3300CK. The brakes don't seem to have as much grab/hold as my previous camper (1996 Newmar).

When on a hill, the truck and camper still rolls when I manually apply the brakes. I know it is not my controller.

Brake pads look fine.

Any suggestions on what or where to check.

Thank you,

Craig

 

[david-steph2018]

Have a new to me 2013 Sundance 3300CK. The brakes don't seem to have as much grab/hold as my previous camper (1996 Newmar).

When on a hill, the truck and camper still rolls when I manually apply the brakes. I know it is not my controller.

Brake pads look fine.

Any suggestions on what or where to check.

Thank you,

Craig

Welcome to the group here.

You will need to check to make sure the brakes are working, by checking the magnets to see if they are getting power. First do a visual and see if any wiring is damage or loose at the wheels. If not you will need to use a multimeter and take a reading at each magnet to see if they are getting power to work. I think there are several links on the forum which gives information on what to look for as far as voltage readings and such.
Look at the bottom of the page under your post and there are some listings there. Also you can go to the "search" bar and type in "brakes or electric brakes" and it should pull up some of the links for you.
Good luck hope it is something simply for repairs

 

[cookie]

Hello Beavertwp and welcome to this great forum.
Although your brake pads look good there are a couple other things that come into play.
Have you adjusted the brakes? Could be that's all you need. No grease on the pads?
The magnets are another item worthy of looking at. Have someone apply the brakes and listen for a hum at each wheel. When you looked at the brake shoes did you inspect the magnets?
Judy a couple things to look at.

Peace
Dave

 

[jerryjay11]

Be sure to look for cracks, excessive wear. 7 years can have some wear on the pads depending of it's prior owner use. I would adjust brakes first, then dig into it if that doesn't help.

 

[Flick]

Couple comments to add to the advice given. You mentioned your controller is ok, but if you haven’t, adjust your controller gain to the point where the gain is to strong. Then back off as needed. If the gain doesn’t tighten your braking, then you can begin looking there for a controller problem or for electrical and mechanical things that have been suggested.
Prior to checking your controller, you could jack up all wheels one at a time and while someone is applying the brakes, spin the wheel to see if the wheel locks. Good luck.

 

[Beavertwp]

I have 13.0 volts at the junction box under the hitch when brake wires to the brakes are unhooked (with manual brake applied). It drops to 10.6 volts when all wires are hooked up. Voltage at the brakes is 8.3. I have the control setting to 10 (max). I have a 15 F350 if that matters. I've had the drums off and cleaned and lighted sanded the pads to rough them up a little. That didn't help.

On a '96 Newmar camper, the camper wheels will lock up when I use the manual slide of the controller and when I apply the foot brake and setting is on max the tires will lock up. So I don't feel like it is the truck.(side note, voltage at brakes is 8.8 on the Newmar using the manual slide.

Should I consider replacing the 16 gauge wire with 12 gauge wire or just replace the brake assemblies. Where is the ground wire located at on a 2013 Sundance?

Thanks for all the previous replies.

 

[danemayer]

Take a look at the Dexter Trailer Brake Manual in this folder. It includes troubleshooting and speaks to low voltage issues.

 

[Flick]

I have 13.0 volts at the junction box under the hitch when brake wires to the brakes are unhooked (with manual brake applied). It drops to 10.6 volts when all wires are hooked up. Voltage at the brakes is 8.3. I have the control setting to 10 (max). I have a 15 F350 if that matters. I've had the drums off and cleaned and lighted sanded the pads to rough them up a little. That didn't help.

On a '96 Newmar camper, the camper wheels will lock up when I use the manual slide of the controller and when I apply the foot brake and setting is on max the tires will lock up. So I don't feel like it is the truck.(side note, voltage at brakes is 8.8 on the Newmar using the manual slide.

Should I consider replacing the 16 gauge wire with 12 gauge wire or just replace the brake assemblies. Where is the ground wire located at on a 2013 Sundance?

Thanks for all the previous replies.

I think you should totally rule out a potential electrical problem before changing out major components. Grounding problems are usually a simple fix but not always. Do your trailer clearance lights work ok? Or do they dim at times? If they dim, it could mean a bad ground.
To answer your question, most ground connection should be made close to the hitch. Unless someone changed the wiring, it will be the white wire from your harness. There should be a black plastic box under the front of the fifth wheel. If you remove a couple screws, you can access the wires and maybe trace where it’s grounded. You may want to run a ground jumper to the frame and pin it with a vice grip to see if it helps when creating a new ground.
Upgrading wire size is good, but if it worked before, that’s probably not the problem. Just keep eliminating potential problems and you’ll get it.